By Luke Sumpter


WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CANNABIS AND HEMP?

First, we need to make it clear that although cannabis and hemp might technically be the same species, they are very different plants to grow. Exclusively female cannabis plants are cultivated by ordinary decent home growers. Our prime directive is to harvest the most psychoactive flowers possible. Photoperiod strains will not bloom without 12 hours of darkness, while autoflowering varieties will begin to bloom around 30 days post-germination.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CANNABIS AND HEMP?

Feminized seeds, which guarantee 99.9% female crops, are more popular than organic regular seeds as no male plants must be removed. Intersex plants are semi-rare, but stress can turn a female into a “hermie”, with both buds and pollen sacs developing. Cannabis cultivators will cull these plants like males to prevent pollination. Sinsemilla or seed-free flower is the benchmark for high-grade bud.

In contrast, hemp or industrial hemp in the EU contains less than 0.2% THC and less than 0.3% THC in the US and Canada. In fact, the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) has called for harmonisation in the interest of fair competition.

LOW THC! WHAT KIND OF HEMP ARE THEY BREEDING?

Both dioecious and monoecious hemp varieties are commonly cultivated for fibre, grain, CBD oil, and hemp seed oil by farmers. Moreover, farmers usually grow for dual-purposes, so little goes to waste. There are no feminized hemp seeds of any strain currently available; rather, some female dominant varieties with 65–85% female populations.

Monoecious hemp strains are actually intersex plants. To hemp breeders, this is a desirable trait to increase seed production for hemp seed oil extraction. Furthermore, autoflowering hemp varieties are also popular with farmers as they are not too tall for the combine harvester. Most photoperiod hemp is vegged for 150 days or less, and then harvested before flowering starts. Some of these hemp strains can stretch well above 3m tall and thrive in cooler northern climates.

WHAT IS HEMP SEED OIL?

On average, hemp seed contains around 30% oil by weight. The precious oil rich in essential fatty acids is extracted by cold pressing. This method is not unique to hemp seed oil and similar to extracting black onion seed oil. Cold pressing requires the seeds to be de-shelled; the outer husk must be removed. Then, after some scientific chilling and squeezing, hemp seed oil is extracted.

The oil is unrefined, green-coloured, and all nutritious content is preserved by the cold press process. Seed shattering is a problem for the industry and coupled with the variation in hemp seed size and oil content. Only commercial production is viable.

Few varieties of industrial hemp, like the autoflowering Finnish hemp strain Finola, can produce 2 ton per hectare (ha) yields of seeds. In contrast, Cannabis indica strains are capable of producing in the region of 10–14 tons per hectare. Regardless of whether it’s pressed from cannabis seeds or hemp seeds, the hemp seed oil derived is not psychoactive and contains no THC.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HEMP SEED OIL?

Hemp seed oil is rich in omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. In fact, it’s the only edible oil that contains greater than 80% polyunsaturated essential fatty acids. Linoleic acid (LA) and linolenic acid (LNA) are found in a ratio of 3:1, which is widely believed by nutritionists to be the optimal ratio.

Another benefit of hemp seed oil is the high levels of vitamin E. On average, 100g of hemp seed oil contains 100–150mg of vitamin E. In case you didn’t know, this vitamin is known for its antioxidant properties. The cosmetic industry can’t stop raving about the anti-ageing properties of this natural nutrient common to cannabis and hemp. Furthermore, it’s pretty common for people to create their own CBD tinctures with hemp seed oil. But hemp seed oil alone does not contain CBD or any other cannabinoids.

WHAT IS HEMP SEED OIL?

WHAT IS CBD OIL?

CBD oil can be extracted from cannabis or hemp. While most recreational, high-THC strains typically contain less than 1% CBD, many legal hemp strains contain 2–3%. CBD-rich cannabis strains have made it possible for home growers to become self-sufficient in generating high-CBD, low-THC flowers.

However, hemp remains the primary source for commercial CBD oil, mostly for legal reasons. 20%+ CBD, seed-free cannabis buds will almost certainly replace CBD oil derived from hemp in the future. In order to achieve the highest yields and purity, most hemp CBD oil manufacturers utilise advanced supercritical CO₂ extraction processes.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF CBD OIL?

CBD interacts with the human endocannabinoid system (ECS) and has many health benefits, from proven anti-inflammatory properties to potential cancer treatments. CBD oil will not get you high because it does not contain THC or any other psychoactive compounds. Supplementing with CBD oil improves homeostasis and can be accurately dosed with a couple of drops under the tongue.

WHAT IS CBD OIL?

Only since the passing of 2014 Farm Bill have some US universities been legally permitted to cultivate hemp for research and development. At present, the US must import hemp seed oil and CBD oil to meet consumer demand.

Meanwhile, in the EU, the industry has grown significantly since the 1970s. EU farmers can even obtain a subsidy for hemp cultivation. It might surprise you, but France is hemp country and the world’s number 1 producer.

According to 2016 EIHA data, 17,000ha of hemp is under cultivation in France. That’s more than half the total 33,000ha for Europe. A diminutive sub-4,000ha leaves US hemp cultivation lagging far behind.

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: